Another newish translation blog/US-Übersetzerweblog

Translation Commentator is a weblog by Rosene Zaros that has been running for some time, mainly with comments on the translation industry in the USA. A recurrent topic is the commodification of translation (it does appear that this term is more common than commoditization, both on UK and edu sites). To quote Bernie Bierman's email given in her latest entry: Translation (and) the translation process, is (are) not about words...big words, little words, short words, long words, whole words or particles of words. It is equally not about numbers or names or formulas or equations. Translation is about writing and communication. Indeed, before the so-called "wizards" of technology came long in the late 1990's or early 2000's, translation was viewed by many as one branch of the communications arts. Indeed, from any clear point of view, whether objective or subjective, translation is about writing and communication. It is not about word-matching, as some if not many of today's technologically-obsessed translators, CAT workers and CAT operators believe. Two issues frequently discussed by translators: 1. How shall I charge? by source text by target text by word by line by page What is a word? What is a page? What is a line? NB German words are on average longer than English words German words in legal texts are on average longer than German words in general texts I have an Excel file someone gave me to adjust between styles of charging. There's also a website somewhere that helps. I'll add it if I remember it. I can't get very excited about this, and I think whichever method you use, you have to fix a rate that gives you enough per hour at the end of t…